Porridge

PHOTOGRAPHY – Deborah Sibbald

Deborah Sibbald lives in London where she works as a social worker for the NHS. She studied photography at John Cass and writes poetry, some of which has begun to appear in various publications. These photographs are a few of many from several series of ” involuntary paintings” taken whilst walking in London.

SHORT STORY – Anita Goveas

Image: Louise Bourgeois, Lacs de Montagne (1997) Anita Goveas is British-Asian, based in London, and fueled by strong coffee and paneer jalfrezi. She lurks in libraries and her local independent bookshop, Bookseller Crow. She was first published in the 2016 London Short Story Prize anthology, most recently in Pocket Change, Haverthorn, Moonchild Magazine, Riggwelter Press, Anti-Heroin Chic, former cactus mag…

FIVE POEMS – Erin Taylor

Image: Ruth Asawa – Untitled, from ‘Flowers’ (1965) Erin Taylor is an American poet whose work has been featured at LAMBDA Literary, Cosmonauts Avenue, Scum Mag, and more. More of her work can be found at erintaylor.tumblr.com and she tweets at @erinisaway. Two of these poems were printed in Porridge’s first print issue available here. a love poem to…

ONE POEM – Joanna Lee

Image: Natalia Goncharova – Cats (rayist percep.[tion] in rose, black, and yellow) (1913) Joanna Lee is a recent English graduate adjusting to life in London. Her work has appeared in notes, daikon* and FLY. She currently works at Faber & Faber. Sonnet We drift unmoored through evenings & metaphors traverse layers of unexpected familiarity in the fading illuminations of narrative…

THREE POEMS – Joseph Birdsey

Image: Mamma Andersson, Dick Bengtsson 2015 (originally published 1983) Joseph Birdsey is a writer and photographer who lives and works in London. He studied English at Goldsmiths, University of London, graduating in 2012. His poems have been published in ‘Myths of the Near Future’ (NAWE Young Writers’ Hub) and by The Poetry Society’s Young Poets Network….

ART – SEIGAR

SEIGAR is an English philologist, a high school teacher, and a curious photographer. He is a fetishist for reflections, saturated colours, details and religious icons. He feels passion for pop culture that shows in his work. He has participated in several exhibitions and his works have also been featured in international publications. SEIGAR’s artwork can…

Three datapoems – James Stone

James Stone founded www.poetryindata.com to explore science and technology through visual poetry. He likes data and poetry because they pack a lot of meaning into a small space. James’ poetry can also be found in our first print issue, which is available for purchase here. Mercury Rising The failure to tackle climate change is not a failure of science,…

SHORT STORY – Flying Solo: Jessica Bonder

Image: Painting by the LA-based artist, Kelly Reemtsen. Jessica Bonder is an American fiction writer. She has published short stories in The Stockholm Review, The Lonely Crowd, STORGY Magazine, Split Lip Magazine, Black Heart Magazine, The Writing Disorder, and The Cabinet of Heed, among others. Her website is jessicabonder.com and you can tweet her @jessbonder. Flying Solo A large man bearing a bouquet…

TWO POEMS – Anas Hassan

Image: Georgia O’Keeffe – Abstraction Blue (1927) Anas Hassan’s first collection, Bibi, Are You Living?, was published by Eyewear in 2017. His poems have appeared in magazines including Amaryllis; Ink, Sweat & Tears; Snakeskin; The Interpreter’s House and Under the Radar. He has performed at venues including Vortex Dalston (‘Words and Jazz’, EFG London…

ART – Kuukua Wilson

Kuukua Wilson is a Ghanaian-American Painter and Scientific Illustrator based in the United States and the Netherlands. Her creative works focus mainly on storytelling about the intricate complexities of life. She delves into topics ranging from cultural ideals, beauty, nature, and the human experience. She uses her works to share her understanding of life. More can…

ONE POEM – Katie Paterson

Image: Louise Bourgeois – Le Lit, Gros Édredon, Bleu (1997) Katie Paterson is currently an MA student at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. She’s also a writer and spoken word artist. Dressing Gown I’m putting on your dressing gown I will not ask you first it’s not our only intimacy but it speaks of something more than…

TWO POEMS – Sneha Subramanian Kanta

Image: Susan Rothernberg – Limbo (2009-10) Sneha Subramanian Kanta is a GREAT scholarship awardee, and has earned a second postgraduate degree in literature from England. Her work is forthcoming in In/Words Magazine, The Ofi Press, Bombus Press and elsewhere. She is the founding editor of Parentheses Journal, an international literary journal. Her chapbook Synecdoche is forthcoming with The…

To what extent has the welfare state changed since 1970? – Erinda Selmani

Image via Wikipedia Erinda Selmani is a first year student at LSE whose interests include social inequality and global development. She’s also a keen linguist with a passion for French. To what extent has the welfare state changed since 1970? This essay aims to explore the extent to which the welfare state has changed since…

The Illusion of Distance – Jack Crowe

Image: Richard Hamilton, Interior, 1965. Jack Crowe is a graduate with a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Birmingham. He performs as a poet across the UK, and otherwise writes in his far too voluminous spare time. His website is jackcrowejackcrowe.co.uk. The Illusion of Distance When Dennis Kimetto broke the marathon world record in Berlin in 2014, he set off from…

PHOTOGRAPHY: MEMORY – Lucy Jane Purrington

Lucy Jane Purrington graduated with a first honours degree in Photographic Arts from the University of South Wales and is known for her video, performative and photographic work. These photographs by Lucy also appear in the inaugural print issue of Porridge which is available for purchase here. Memory is fluid. Influenced by time, perspective and place. We are made of…

ICELANDIC PHOTOGRAPHY – Saman Izadyar

Saman Izadyar is a Psychology graduate from Cardiff University. He likes to think of himself as an amateur photographer and writer, with a huge passion for music and art (in particular video games). He formerly edited for Quench magazine and sporadically writes posts on his blog at www.MisanthropicPhilanthropy.com. These photographs by Saman also appear in the inaugural…

POETRY – Elden Morrow

Image: Joe Bradley, Untitled from 5 Lithographs, 2015 Elden Morrow is a recent graduate from the University of Birmingham – BA in English with Creative Writing – and is returning there to do an MA. He loves poetry and music that always appears to withhold something – lyrics that use understatement or humour to mask…

SHORT STORY – Dustin Heron

Image: Richard Lindner, ‘Poet from Fun City’, 1971, lithograph, MOMA. Dustin Heron holds an MA and an MFA from San Francisco State University. His work has appeared most recently in Watershed Review and Craft Literary, and is forthcoming from Occulum, Fictive Dream, and Ghost Parachute. His stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best…

Underwhelming Miracles of the Middle Ages – Chris Rouse

Chris Rouse is a graduate with an MA in Medieval Studies from the University of York. He is a keen writer and loves to bore people about various historical topics. He is the founder of Voces Historiae. This essay by Chris also appears in the inaugural print issue of Porridge which is available for purchase here. Image: St…

THREE POEMS – Gabe Kahan

Image: Claude Cahun & Marcel Moore – Aveux non avenus, Planche VI, photomontage, 1919 Gabe Kahan is a poet, freelance writer, visual artist, head arts and music editor for the Red Fez, and the founding editor of Taxicab Magazine. His poetry has appeared in Occulum, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, The Paragon Journal, and others. He lives…

ONE POEM – Brandon Marlon

Image: William Kentridge, Learning the Flute, 2003 Brandon Marlon is a writer from Ottawa, Canada. He received his B.A. in Drama & English from the University of Toronto and his M.A. in English from the University of Victoria. His poetry was awarded the Harry Hoyt Lacey Prize in Poetry (Fall 2015), and his writing has been published…

Second reply to Gripegut – Robert Boucheron

Image: Georges de La Tour, ‘Quarrelling Musicians’, 1625-30 Robert Boucheron grew up in Syracuse and Schenectady, New York. From 1978 to 2016, he worked as an architect in New York City and Charlottesville, Virginia. His short stories and essays appear in Fiction International, London Journal of Fiction, New Haven Review, Poydras Review, The Short Story, and other…

TWO POEMS – Alyssa Trivett

Image: Gertrude Greene – Related Forms, 1947 Alyssa Trivett is a wandering soul from the Midwest. When not working two jobs, she listens to music while chirping down coffee and scrawling lines on the back of gas station receipts. Her work has recently appeared at VerseWrights, In Between Hangovers, The Squawk Back, and in the first print issue of Ramingo’s…

ONE POEM – Michael Rerick

Image: Georgia O’ Keeffe – Blue Morning Glory, 1938 Michael Rerick lives and teaches in Portland, Oregon. Work recently appears or is forthcoming at Angel City Review, Horse Less Review, Potluck Magazine, Switchback, S/Word, and Waccamaw. He is also the author of In Ways Impossible to Fold, morefrom, The Kingdom of Blizzards, The Switch Yards, and X-Ray. From: Moss as briefly this our blue cars are dented this hairy…

ONE POEM – Sally Yazwinski

Sally Yazwinski was born and raised on her family’s dairy farm in Western Massachusetts. She went on to earn her M.Ed in moderate disabilities and taught middle school for six years. She then earned an MFA in Fiction from the University of Idaho. She’s currently living and going to graduate school in Cork Ireland, and…

ONE POEM – Wanda Deglane

Image: The Mothers, Käthe Kollwitz, 1922 Wanda Deglane is a freshman at Arizona State University, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Her ultimate goals are to mend families, inspire as many people as…

Exploring the presentation of witchcraft and the supernatural in the work of Thomas Hardy – Georgia Tindale

Image: Jacket image of The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy, Penguin Paperback (1999) Georgia Tindale works as an Assistant Editor in Amsterdam and is the co-editor of Porridge. She enjoys writing on a wide range of subjects including science, health and society, history, religion and postcolonial studies. Her poetry will be published in Laurel Magazine later this year, she tweets @tindale_georgia. Exploring…

Little Brother – Jay the Echo (Music Video)

Jay the Echo is a Hip Hop artist and producer from the Bay Area, California. He is interested in the utilization of music and other media as a vessel for social change. For more material, visit jaytheecho.com. Little Brother — Jay the Echo “I think people are realising that movies and TV shows do a lot of work…

TWO POEMS – Andy Stallings

Image: Rebecca Louise Law, a London-based artist who is known for her suspended flower installations, transforming spaces, via @womensart1 Andy Stallings lives in Deerfield, MA, where he teaches English at Deerfield Academy. His second collection with Rescue Press, ‘Paradise,’ will come out in 2018. He has four young children, and coaches cross country running. Paradise As she…

Reconfiguration and Recovery in Brenda Iijima’s Palimptext, revv. you’ll-ution – Heather Sweeney

Image via Max Pixel Heather Sweeney currently lives in San Diego where she teaches writing and yoga. Some of her other work appears or is forthcoming in Bad Pony, Moonchild, The Hunger, La Vague, Bombay Gin, dusie, and Shantih. Reconfiguration and Recovery in Brenda Iijima’s Palimptext, revv. you’ll-ution Because it is difficult to decipher. Artificial…

THREE POEMS – Charlie Baylis

Charlie Baylis is from Nottingham, England. He is the poetry editor of Review 31. He has published two pamphlets Elizabeth (Agave Press) and hilda doolittle´s carl jung t-shirt (Erbacce), a poem of his is featured in the Best New British and Irish Poets 2017 (Eyewear Press). He spends his spare time completely adrift of reality. A blue rose In twenty years’ time…

TWO POEMS – Joey Sheehan

Image: Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian – Untitled, 2005-6 Joey Sheehan is a poet and essayist from Baltimore, Maryland. His work has appeared in Alien Mouth, The Avenue Journal, and The Cerurove. His first collection, New Queer Cinema and Other Poems came out locally in 2015. He is a graduate of University of Baltimore’s creative writing MFA program. …

ONE POEM – Sally Yazwinski

Image: The Rothschild’s Surrealist Ball, 1972 Sally Yazwinski was born and raised on her family’s dairy farm in Western Massachusetts. She went on to earn her M.Ed in moderate disabilities and taught middle school for six years. She then earned an MFA in Fiction from the University of Idaho. She’s currently living and going to…

ONE POEM – Armen Abalian

Image: Zena Assi – Bridges over the city shore, 2016 Most of Armen Abalian’s artistic endeavors have been related to music and photography. Poetry is a relatively new field for him. That said, he has already been published a couple of times, most recently in Ghost City Review in May 2017. He currently divides his time…

TWO POEMS – Stallion Dunquis

Image: Georgia O’Keeffe – Ram’s Head, White Hollyhock and Little Hills, 1935 Stallion Dunquis is a poet & modern troubadour based in New York City and Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. Untitled No rest until the final rest in fire Cold showers and a laugh at discomfort Sleep an hour, cut my hair with…

ONE POEM – Bradley Samore

Image: Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum – Quadra 04, 2016 Bradley Samore currently lives in North Carolina and is a high school English teacher. His writing has been featured in various publications including West Texas Literary Review, Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, and SLAB Literary Magazine. Heat Lightning Out of the house and into the night flashes distract…

The Church on the Hill – Robert Boucheron

Robert Boucheron grew up in Syracuse and Schenectady, NY. He has worked as an architect in New York City and Charlottesville, VA. His short stories and essays appear in Bangalore Review, Fiction International, The Fiction Pool, Litro, London Journal of Fiction, New Haven Review, Short Fiction. The Church on the Hill A bell tolls the hours. It carries…

The use of machines in Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ – Dong Liu

Dong Liu is a postgraduate in British and American Literature from Beihang University in Beijing. She is interested in fiction, psychology and cross-cultural communication. The use of machines in Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ In Death of a Salesman, the most successful of Arthur Miller’s plays, Miller insightfully foresees the negative effects that the…

An interview with Lisa Tindale

The quaint fishing village of Staithes on the North East coast will host the 6th annual Art and Heritage Festival over September 9th and 10th. The village was once home to a group of 20 to 30 artists known as the Staithes Group of Artists and the CBeebies series Old Jack’s Boat, starring Bernard Cribbins, was filmed there. Staithes will…

POETRY – Umang Kalra

Image: Frida Kahlo – The Wounded Deer, 1946 Umang Kalra’s poems have previously appeared in Blue Marble Review, Quail Bell Magazine, VAYAVYA, Esthesia Magazine, and Coldnoon. She has previously served on the Masthead of Inklette Magazine, and is currently involved in a year-long mentorship programme with Doireann Ní Ghríofa for women of colour in Ireland….

POETRY – Elden Morrow

Image: Yayoi Kusama – I Want to Live Honestly, Like the Eye in the Picture, 2009 Elden Morrow is a recent graduate from the University of Birmingham – BA in English with Creative Writing – and is returning there to do an MA. He loves poetry and music that always appears to withhold something – lyrics…

POETRY – Chavonne Brown

Image: Jean-Michel Basquiat – Bird on Money, 1981 Chavonne Brown lives in Birmingham. He is soon to be a Creative Writing MA student at the University of Birmingham. A number of his stage plays have produced for the theatre and he hopes to do further work for the stage. He currently writes for The Unapologists…

The Loneliest Drag King – Johnny Jupiter

Image: Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria (1982) Johnny Jupiter aka Ar Booth is a trainee History teacher from Bradford. They studied History and Politics at University of Birmingham and did their undergraduate dissertation on the political subversiveness of drag kings while their MA dissertation was on the political subversiveness of female stand up comics. Johnny has performed…